Ed Notes Online
Coney Island Prep Charter Schools Publicly Shame Students
“It is in their handbook that they subject their students to wear an orange tee-shirt over their uniform when they are Out of the PRIDE, when they’re not given enough money in their paycheck,” asserted CEC 21 Treasurer and local parent Randi Garay at a Parent Education Program (PEP) meeting with the Department of Education (DOE) last October. “When they’re Out of the PRIDE, they miss out on enrich
Reaching Kids with Street Law 101: Jeff Kaufman Featured in Article in School Stories
A fascinating piece on Jeff and his teaching career. Where did they get that MORE is left wing? They must not know about Mike Schirtzer.http://school-stories.org/2014/03/street-law-101/Reaching Kids with Street Law 101by Annum Khan Posted on 28 March 2014. It was sixth period in Jeff Kaufman’s Street Law class in Aspirations Diploma Plus High School in Brooklyn. Homicide was the subject of the da
Test, Charter Parent/Teacher Protest Roundup
Blown away! Boycotting Teachers from Chicago sent these flowers of solidarity to Colin, Emmy and myself!.. Jia LeeTwo of my students from last year just emailed me a video of themselves tearing up their ELA prep books... Lauren Cohen feeling proud Lots of coverage on the tests but not very much on Thursday's anti-charter Cuomo giveaway. Testing opponents reaching critical mass. Charter issue still
YESTERDAY
Lydia Howrilka Speech on DOE Discontinue Black List at PEP, April 9, 2014
Readers of Ed Notes know about the horrendous Discontinue, where any principal is given the power to terminate the career of any non-tenured teacher, even if another principal wants to hire them - as was the case for Lydia. What insane system do we have where a first year teacher can have their dreams of teaching in the NYC school system ended by a vindictive principal? Why vindictive do you say?
Rally Against Cuomo/State Leg Charter Giveaway - photos
The abandonment of any sense of support for public schools and the caving to the charter lobby has been the equivalent of an ice bomb dropped on many people who have had faith in the political system (I am not one of those and what the state leg did is totally expected). Many of the protesters are promising revenge -- like running in primaries, etc. We'll see. I think it will take a series of mass
APR 10
More Pix From Rally With Real Grassroots Parents Opposing Cuomo Charter Giveaway
See my earlier post.Protesting Charter Lobby Influence -- Unique Coalitions Formed - and in Formation
Protesting Charter Lobby Influence -- Unique Coalitions Formed - and in Formation
To all who came, thank you. To all who will come the next time, we'll keep you posted on the next action. In short it was a GREAT day, GREAT day. So many showed up...by my estimate at least 300, may be more. We had reps from many elected officials, Liz Kruger and Danny Dromm were there. Danny spoke. Bob Jackson was there. Our march to Cuomo's office had a police escort and a hot band with a
Ps 87 Protests 2014 Ela Tests; Joins In Support Of Other Nyc Schools
Spreading like wildfire.MEDIA ALERT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 9, 2014 Press Contacts:Edith Baltazar, edith.baltazar@gmail.com, 646-326-8953Ann Binstock, annbinstock@yahoo.com, 415-810-7113 PS 87 PROTESTS 2014 ELA TESTS; JOINS IN SUPPORTOF OTHER NYC SCHOOLSWHEN: FRIDAY, APRIL 11TIME: 7:45 A.M. WHERE: PS
Mercedes Schneider Dissects Sol Stern's Lack of Knowledge on Common Core
Stern, I have to tell you– you are so out of the loop... Mercedes Schneider Sol Stern has been a sparring partner for many years - since the days when he went after teacher seniority as the worst thing to happen to public education. Sol is a delightful adversary. But we have had some blow-ups over the years-- at one point he called me dishonest and said he had way more respect for Randi's honesty
Astroturf on Steroids - Raging Horse Blog Exposes the Truth About "Higher Achievement NY"
Higher Achievement New York...yet another deceitfully created billionaire backed front group passing itself off as “grass roots ” and roping in just enough innocent faces to fool those who don’t know any better.... a public relations project disguised as an education advocacy group. As Higher Achievement New York is comprised of more established and experienced fronts such as the Gates Foundation’
APR 09
Julie Cavanagh With MORE Statement of Support for Today's Parent Rally to Protest Cuomo Charter Giveaway
The charter school giveaways in last week’s budget were nothing short of a death sentence for the sustainability of New York City’s public school system:.... Julie CavanaghWere you happy when you saw Eva close her schools and use kids and parents blatantly for political purposes? And were you happy that Cuomo pandered to their illegal rally?Today is the chance to counter that rally with real grass
Videos: Unity Caucus Bullies Jeer Protestors Opposed to Bill Gates at the AFT - Randi Eggs Them on - Chastised by Delegate
[Your actions] made me feel that Bill Gates was more important than our brothers and sisters.... delegate to Randi Weingarten, Seattle, 2010...Given what happened at the NYSUT RA this past weekend with the Unity bullies in action, here are 3 videos I put together at the AFT Convention in Seattle in July 2010 showing that their behavior was not that unusual.Video 1 - David Bellel and I recreated ou
The NYC Anti-Test Teacher Rebellion Grows - PS 29 in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill - Farina Territory
Posted on the Ravitch blog. Also - PS 261 in the same neighborhood is holding a rally and forum tomorrow - Thursday - Janine and Fred from CTS will be on the panel. The UFT will probably start trying to take credit for these revolts when in fact they have done nothing to encourage and support the teacher rebellion.Let me make one prediction which I will make time and again -- the test scores will
MORE's Jia Lee in The Nation
For Lee, all this number crunching is the antithesis of a progressive education. Kids do need some basic academic skills, Lee says, but in the context of a well-rounded pedogagy, “[for] educators who believe strongly in…. developing the whole child—you see these tests as trying to turn the child into some kind of number based on artificially set standards.… that, to me, goes against the very reaso
Fred Smith, Ode to Loyalty
Ode to LoyaltyLoyalty is one of those words.Like respect. It must be earned.Else we are one with grazing herds.Loyalty is a choice, I have learned.Power rests easy when masses comply.Conformity is the rule of the bosses' game.Don't think too hard or notice the lie.Their only reform is more of the same."Are you a team player?" they always ask.To which you must give an unflinching "Ye
APR 08
District 2 principals fight back! Parents, Rally with your school on Friday morning vs awful State ELA exam
Oh da protests continue against state exams. The deformers who put out those pro Eva ads are going to take a shot at reversing the anti-common core movement with a bunch of ads -- our pals at E4E, Students - barf- First, etc are involved in that. The tests suck, parents are pissed, kids are bummed, teachers are stressed-- there ain't no turning this train around.Posted at Leonie's NYCParents Blog.
Video - NYSUT Update: MORE's Lauren Cohen and Mike Schirtzer Rock the House
The video you have been waiting for. I'm so proud of our MORE next-generation union activists. Lauren and Mike are the new rock-stars. Lots of comments over at NYC Educator as to the level of Lauren's petiteness (UFT-Unity Caucus Demonstrates How It Handles Dissent) ....I have never viewed Lauren as petite because from the day I met her I viewed her as a giant. When she was so desperate to get awa
Thursday - Rally Against Cuomo - 4 PM
Lots of forces gathering for the big march and rally on Thursday to Cuomo's Manhattan office. Are you pissed off at Cuomo? BE THERE!!!!
APR 07
NYSUT Election Update: Message to Revive: Now that you broke it, you own it
Well, Revive certainly broke NYSUT with the claim that the Stronger Together leadership wasn't militant enough -- one very big joke. So now they own it.And Revive will come under the very same attacks they used on Stronger Together starting ---- yesterday. Even with 100% of the Unity block voting for him, Revive's Martin Messner won with 53.7% of the weighted vote while Stronger Together incumbent
NYSUT Election Update: Julie Cavanagh Defeats Mulgrew Outside NYC With 52.3% of Vote
Michael Mulgrew and Julie Cavanagh replayed the 2013 UFT Election here at NYSUT for an at large Board of Directors seat. Mulgrew garnered 197,081 weighted votes while Cavanagh received 93,830. Now take out the 111,525 NYC Unity votes (I think we can safely assume that no NYC Unity voter would vote against Mulgrew in an open ballot) and Mulgrew is left with 85,556. Cavanagh keeps her 93,830 . The
Lauren Cohen Stands Up to Bully Tests and Bully Unity Slugs
Yesterday morning I watched from the audience as Lauren Cohen, a petite young woman from the UFT MORE caucus, got up and addressed the NYSUT Representative Assembly as a candidate. When Lauren mentioned the UFT-Unity Loyalty oath, my 800 brothers and sisters from UFT-Unity tried to drown her voice with loud boos. The moderator had to get up and explain that it was not in the best traditions of pub
APR 06
Today: Don't Tread On Educators Workshop in Brooklyn, 5-8PM
Are you an educator who: Feels their career has been derailed? Bullied in the workplace? Overloaded and underappreciated? Are you burnt out?.....COME GET FUELED UP! You are not alone. We are taking back our careers.
Murry Bergtraum Principal Lottie "Neutron Bomb" Almante....
...can clear a building faster than flatulence from a herd of cattle. Look at my school, Murry Bergtraum High School. Nearly 1/3 of the staff split because of the principal. I call her “Lottie Neutron” (as the neutron bomb kills people put leaves buildings in tact). ... John Elfrank-Dana, Chapter LeaderJohn has been vigilant as a chapter leader.Dear Bergtraum Community,Attached are the results of
Accolades for 3 Teachers Test Refuseniks
If Unity Caucus could have booed Jia Lee, one of MORE's candidates at the NYSUT RA this past weekend, they would have. But Jia had ceded her time to Laura Cohen, who was booed by the Unity 800 (UFT-Unity Caucus Demonstrates How It Handles Dissent).Valerie Strauss reports on Jia and colleagues' remarkable letter of conscience to Carmen Farina.Three teachers from P.S. 364 Earth School in New York ha
On DIscontinue - MORE's Paul Hogan - Mr. de Blasio: Tear Up This Blacklist
My fellow MOREista retiree Paul Hogan urges you to sign a petition against the DOE blacklist, where any principal has the power to ruin a non-tenured teacher's entire career with a swoop of a computer stroke. Paul is another outstanding MORE activist, thoughtful, analytical, smart -- the kind of person MORE is attracting in greater numbers. Paul often gets up early and stands in front of schools i